In a couple of weeks, the Presidents Cup—involving teams of 12 competitors on each side—will be played for the 10th time. Now consider that last weekend there was a team match that involved 684 players in a match that was celebrating its 100th birthday. The event—surely the largest annual team competition in the world—is the Town Match of St. Andrews, in which members of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club take on players from local clubs in a dawn-to-dusk marathon of foursomes (alternate shot) competition that spreads across the Old, New, Jubilee, and Strathtyrum courses. It all started in 1913 and, except for a hiatus during the two world wars, has been played each September since. This year saw a tight contest that resulted in 87 points for the Town, 84 for the R&A. The overall results, however, are a bit lopsided: Counting its recent back-to-back victories in 2009 and 2010, the R&A has won only five times, the homeys 84.

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You might want to rethink this piece. The Oxford Cambridge Golfing Society held matches against British golf clubs beginning about 1897. Those matches continue today.

Not to mention matches between Oxford and Cambridge which began in the 1880’s. Or Scotland – England matches that started in 1902.